Workshops

Below are descriptions of the workshops I teach.

All workshops are $30; pre-registration is required.

Go to Schedule of Events to see which are currently on offer

To register, or for information on payment options,

 CLICK THIS LINK  mailto:[email protected]

1.Chord & Melody

 Explore the lyrical side of the ukulele. In this workshop you’ll learn to play chord-melody arrangements. We’ll take a tune and learn how we can intersperse strumming with picking without losing the melody of the song. Once you have mastered this skill, you can arrange any song in your repertoire

2.Strumming Patterns

This workshop will help you develop your strumming technique. You will be learning how and when to use a "double strum". We'll look at songs in various timings - e.g. 4/4: 3/4; "on" and "off beat" strumming, so you can enhance your "Sing and Strum" experience.

3.What the Heck are the Notes on the Neck ?

What are all those frets for up at the "dusty" end of the neck of the ukulele, and how can I make best use of them? We’ll learn some basic scales to familiarize ourselves with the note names on the frets and then look at how we can start to “solo” or improvise within a song. Just for fun, we'll add in a few chord inversions for some great sounding chords.

4.The Ukulele Orchestra Experience 

We will look at a piece of contemporary music that I’ve arranged into three parts and, after a short practice, you can decide which you feel most comfortable playing. I’ll split the class up into three groups and by the end of the session, we will come together and play the piece as an orchestra. (Minimum of 8 participants)

5. The Mystery of Chords

This workshop will show you how chords are made and explain the mystery of chord progressions. Learn some “Must Know” chord progressions How to transpose or change the key of a song Movable chords Chord “inversions” (don’t worry, it’s not that technical) and see how you can make chords up and down the neck. How and when to use a capo How to anticipate chord changes and position your fingers for quicker and more accurate changes. 

6. Chord Twins
This workshop is suitable for newer strummers and those wishing to add some cool chords to their repertoire. The ukulele, with its four strings, makes playing some difficult chords easy. We will look at the magic of “chord twins”, how we can utilize the same chord shapes moving around the neck to play some wonderful songs. This workshop uses James Hill's "Booster Uke" book for an additional cost of $19.

7. Timing is Everything

This workshop will help you understand those "dots with sticks" you see written on the lines of the Treble Clef music sheets in many of your Uke songbooks. It is a pre-requisite for any Orchestra player who is not familiar with quarter, half, eighth, dotted and tied notes. In the first part of the workshop, we will run through some timing exercises, learning different rhythms and how to recognize them. In the second part, we will try some ensemble playing to learn how to listen as we play in a group.

8. Singing the Strings

This workshop explores how to arrange sung harmonies using the ukulele. It is suitable for any level of ukulele player and is a lot of fun. Using two, three or four strings, we can instantly create a multi-harmony sound with any song. If you like to sing, sing in a choir, would like to sing in a choir or want to start arranging songs, this is the workshop for you.